Both parties seem relatively united in condemning Mr. Snowden as a "traitor" to his country for leaking the details on the government's efforts to erode citizens' Constitutional freedom to live their lives in privacy -- even as civil liberties groups call him a patriot.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), reiterates, "I don't look at this as being a whistle-blower, I think it's an act of treason. He took an oath - that oath is important. He violated the oath, he violated the law. It's an act of treason in my view."

The U.S. may have a difficult time extricating Mr. Snowden given that he's holed up at a safe house in a secret location in Hong Kong, China. And given that some of his leaks reveal details of programs the U.S. used to spy on China, Chinese officials are reportedly hesitant to hunt him down.

The Obama Administration's Attorney General (AG) Eric Holder and President Obama have already endorsed the use of drone death strikes to kill Americans in "extreme" cases where "national security" is threatened. Given the harsh rhetoric from both Congressional Democrats and Republicans (and the White House) some fear that Mr. Snowden could soon be targeted by such a strike, if his location is determined.

Some top officials believe the U.S. may use a drone death strike on Snowden.
[Image Source: Drone Wars UK]

Mr. Snowden appears to be still alive and well -- he is doing a live-stream Q&A today at 11 a.m. EST.

III. Rep. Paul Warns of Death Strike Possibility

Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas), who is among the few in Congress to condemn the spying and praised Mr. Snowden's whistleblowing, voiced this concern tellingFox Business News, "I’m worried about somebody in our government might kill him with a cruise missile or a drone missile. I mean we live in a bad time where American citizens don’t even have rights and that they can be killed, but the gentlemen is trying to tell the truth about what’s going on."

Ron Paul says that the spying was "certainly not patriotic" and was a victory for terrorists.
[Image Source: AP]

Rep. Paul has sounded the alarm in recent years about what he views as growing collusion between the Republican and Democratic parties to funnel money to special interests, build a military complex, and strip Americans of their Constitutional freedoms.

He stated during the 2012 election, "Democracy isn't all that healthy in this country because if you're in a third party... you don't get in the debates... And if you ever come to the conclusion -- heaven forbid -- that the two parties aren't all that different, then what is left really?"

The State Department announced on Monday that it was offering up to $23 million for information leading to the locations of top officialsThe single-biggest bounty, of up to $7 million, is for the leader of Boko Haram, a Nigeria-based group held responsible for numerous attacks

The difference being that the latter had a publicly announced bounty with instructions on how to collect.

A public announcement is not needed for SnowdenHe has pissed off US covert intelligenceHe has pissed off UK covert intelligence

Both have a history of erasing embarrassments. Mercenaries, informers and foreign intelligence agencies who suspect he might know something they wish to keep quiet will be quietly contacting appropriate agencies if they think they have a lead. Whether US or UK want to follow up is irrelevant, it will be assumed that they would like to put an end to the public statements.

Quiet removal of "problems" has been a CIA responsibility beginning in the days when the organization was called OSS.

It is rarely heard of in public notices since it is illegal, done by undercover 'assets', often using devices that "do not exist". And yes when the government has a chance to control the investigation, the official verdict is "natural causes" or "random killing, probably gang related" depending on how the operation was conducted.

"So, I think the same thing of the music industry. They can't say that they're losing money, you know what I'm saying. They just probably don't have the same surplus that they had." -- Wu-Tang Clan founder RZA